Battle Of Love
by ThievesOverBullies
Summary: Regina Mills is a southern belle in the South, right before the start of the Civil War, she will meet a very confident stranger. (Discontinued)
1. Chapter 1

_**(A/N-This was inspired by the movie Gone With The Wind, and a manip I saw over two years ago with Regina in Scarlett's red dress with Robin holding her in his arms. Special thanks to Mint18 for betaing this story. I have been wanting to do a civil war fic with these two for such a long time. So when you're reading remember this is a time piece, men and women, well acted a tad different back then. Also I tried to make Robin like Rhett Butler and Regina like Scarlet O'Hara just a little. While I did put a scene here or there using GWTW as a reference, there will be a huge difference from the movie as I unfortunately don't own it.)**_

 _ ***No disclaimer needed as I helped create Outlaw Queen, not Adam or Eddie per the COWARDLY ADAM!***_

On a plantation in South Carolina, in early Spring,

He strolled along the ballroom, his shoulders catching her attention, his blue eyes holding it. Beneath the super fine material of his exquisitely tailored suit, his body was strong, almost illustrious. He strode through the crowded ballroom with the supreme confidence of a man who knew what he wanted.

Regina Mills, the daughter of Henry and Cora Mills of Queen's plantation, was in the peak of her prime. She was seventeen years old, and was a beloved and somewhat spoiled daughter. She had numerous beaus, but only one had ever captured and kept her heart.

Daniel Stables, from Fourteen Oaks, a neighboring plantation. She had known Daniel all her life and she couldn't wait for the day he would ask her father for her hand in marriage. Daniel was such a sweet young gentleman and she knew he would love and care for her all their years together.

She saw Daniel on the far side of the ballroom and started to take a step towards him, when she noticed the man from moments before, was staring back at her. His hair was dark blonde almost brown and he had some stubble. His face was almost chiseled, and as she looked back at him, he smirked at her, with the most amazing set of dimples she had ever seen. His eyes, the purest blue she had ever seen looked back at her without blinking, almost like a lion assessing its possible prey.

Regina, however was no naive, hapless little mouse to be plucked up for her fat dowry. Faced with such an unscrupulous stare, she lifted one eyebrow in response. Perfected during her days at finishing school, it was a pointed indication to a rude man that he was being rude, and its usual result was to send the man in question scurrying off in abashed dismay.

Not this man.

Instead of looking away, he looked down, and those bold eyes roved with unnerving thoroughness over her person, from head to toe and back, pausing for a little more than was the social norm at the neckline of her gown, reminding her how low it was cut.

For no reason at all, she blushed, heat spreading outward from where his gaze lingered at her breasts to all the other parts of her body, down her legs and along her arms, up her neck and into her face. Her toes curled in her satin slippers, and without thinking, she lifted one gloved hand, to her chest to shield herself from his ill-mannered observation.

His thick lashes lifted and his eyes met hers again, their corners creased with amusement, one corner of his mouth curved up in a faint smirk.

Furious, Regina tore her gaze away, and as she did, she caught sight of a footman carrying a tray filled with glasses. Feeling in desperate need of a drink, she plucked one of the glasses from his tray as he passed, and ignoring her mother's disapproving stare, she drowned half the cream sherry it contained in one swallow.

She passed by a group of women gossiping, "He is a handsome cad, but his reputation is not one that a family in the south would have."

"Where is he from?" another woman asked.

"He's from New York, his family is the Locksleys from Locksley Manufacturing," another woman said.

"And his name?" one asked.

"Robin, Robin Locksley," one answered.

Regina shook her head and headed towards the gazebo to meet Daniel. She thought of the warmth in his eyes, his tenderness, and the way he pulled her close, she knew she would be in love with him forever. He loved her and he could give her everything she wanted in life.

She looked forward to his proposal, Daddy would agree to the match, of course. Once her father gave his permission, she and Daniel would announce their engagement straight away, perhaps even right here at this ball. She saw that it was nearing midnight, when Daniel and her had agreed to meet.

She exited a side door, hearing a group of gentlemen talk about the war that was coming. Regina didn't care about all this war talk, she wanted to meet up with Daniel.

She headed towards the gazebo and saw Daniel standing there, he turned as he heard her coming. His boyish face took on an expression of pleasure and relief at the sight of her.

"Regina," he held out his hand, and she crossed to stand before him. Through the fabric of their gloves, his fingers felt warm and reassuring as they clasped her. "You came."

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Regina asked.

He gave her a disarming smile. "I wasn't sure. It's not as if you wear your heart on your sleeve, my dear."

"Neither do you. At least..." she paused, feeling shy all of a sudden. "You never have before."

"I know. Even I don't understand what's come over me. All I know is that when I saw you come tonight, I couldn't wait another hour to tell you how much I love and adore you. I want to spend my life caring for you and making you happy, Regina," Daniel said.

He paused, and though she'd known proposing marriage was his intent, she still felt a thrill as he sank to one knee.

"Regina,...will you..." he paused again, but though the silence was agonizing, she relished it. This wasn't the only offer of marriage she had ever received, but it was the first one since then that she wanted to accept.

But the proposal never came. Instead, another male voice spoke, one that was deeply shocked and unmistakable Northern.

"Oh, I do say!" the voice said.

Even before she turned, Regina could make a fair guess to whom that drawling, well-bred voice belonged to, and when she looked over her shoulder, she found her awful suspicion confirmed by the sight of Robin Locksley standing near the gazebo.

"I'm so sorry," his eyes widened in pretense of innocence, but his knowing smile made short work of both his innocent air and his apology. "Have I interrupted an special moment?"

"You! What are you doing here?" Regina asked.

"It's such a beautiful night, I decided to take a walk," Robin Locksley gaze moved to Daniel as the other man rose from his knees. "And a good thing, too. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened."

"Walk, my eye," she muttered, "You followed me."

"I did," he answered without looking at her, "though it wasn't really necessary to do so. I know that if a lady is going to be compromised a gazebo is a fine place to start."

"That's enough!" Daniel took a step forward. "This is a private conversation. Leave at once."

"I don't believe I will," Robin said, folding his arms across his wide chest.

"Oh this is ridiculous," Regina burst out, "I am not being compromised."

"Granted, I've been in the south long enough to know, that no gentleman with honorable intentions, would ask a young lady to meet him in this clandestine fashion," Robin said.

"I said, that is enough!" Daniel shouted.

"What, did I touch a nerve?" Robin asked, smiling. "Or do you intend to claim that luring a young lady out for a midnight assignation is an honorable course?"

"You sir are no gentlemen," Daniel said.

"That's rich coming from you," Robin said, "after what you did three days ago."

Regina looked from Robin to Daniel, "What does he mean, Daniel?"

Daniel stared at Robin, before looking down at Regina, "I have no idea my dearest."

"Really? Should I refresh your memory then?" Robin asked.

"Shut your mouth!" Daniel shouted and started towards Robin.

"And if I don't?" Robin unfolded his arms, straightened away from the door frame, and took a step forward as the other man approached him. "What will you do?

Daniel stopped, still a few feet away, and Regina heard him take a deep, steadying breath. "As much as I'd like to take you down a notch or two, it would be unthinkable to brawl in front of a lady."

"My, my, such chivalry," Robin laughed, a low, deep laugh of unmistakable mockery. "Or perhaps, it's just cowardice."

This taunt proved too much even for Daniel to bear. With a roar of outrage, he took the last few steps and struck out with his fist, but Robin ducked, evading the blow. In the same instant, his own fist came up, catching Daniel hard under the chin, sending him stumbling backward. Two more lightning strikes, one straight beneath his ribs and the other hard to the jaw, and Daniel hit the wall behind him. He sank to the floor.

"Oh, no," Regina hurried forward as he slumped sideways to the ground. "Daniel, are you alright?" But he didn't answer.

The tap of footsteps had her looking up at Robin, "He's unconscious."

Robin didn't spare more than the briefest glance at the unmoving figure on the ground. "He'll be alright."

"You knocked him out!" Regina yelled.

"So I did," Robin tugged on his cuffs. "A most gratifying experience."

"Why would you do this? You don't even know me?" Regina asked.

"No," he paused, "but I know him."

"You're a monster," Regina said as she stood up and started to slap her hands on his chest, Robin captured her hands and held them, restraining her from hitting him further.

"Calm down!" Robin said. She tried to pull free of his grip, but it was futile. All of a sudden his eyes locked with hers.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked.

"Doing what I've wanted to do since laying eyes on you," Robin said as he leaned down and kissed her.

With her velvety lips beneath his and her lithe body pressed against him, Robin felt as if the earth were caving under his feet and his body had been lit on fire.

He had known one day he would marry, and he had practiced kissing with many a woman and then some. Suddenly, giving all his kisses to just one woman for the rest of his life, seemed more like delight than deprivation.

Regina pulled back and as she looked into his eyes, she realized her hands were loose, not just free from Robin's, but had curled around his shoulders. She pulled them back and reared back and slapped him hard across the face but Robin just laughed and started to walk off.

Her night had been ruined because of Robin Locksley, and if she never saw him again it would be too soon.

Little did she know that this would not be the worst night of her life...that there would be many, more bad nights to come as one week later, Fort Sumter was fired on signalling the beginning of the Civil War.

 _ **(A/N-Now while I am going to lightly cover items about the war, I do not plan on going to heavily into the dynamics of the war itself. I'm going to focus on the relationship between Robin and Regina instead.)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**(Special thanks to Mint18 for beta reading this, appreciate it! Thank you to all who read, review, follow and fav this!)**_

 _ ***No disclaimer needed as I helped create Outlaw Queen, not Adam or Eddie per the COWARDLY ADAM!***_

 _ **Warning for small scene of violence against women.**_

Chapter 2

Almost four years into the war, Queen's plantation was in complete disarray. There had been numerous battles around them and Regina's home had not been spared. Their crops had been burned by the Yankees and their animals all taken. What Regina's family had never found out about Regina, is that while she was indeed a true southern belle, her heart went to the slaves. She had helped many escape up north to the Underground Railroad, at the risk of her own life and her family's.

She had just returned from another run, and had just step back into the back yard of her home, when she felt a hand on her arm pulling her around.

"Well, look what we have here," a greasy Yankee said to her.

"Let go of me, Yankee scum!" Regina said, trying to pull away from him.

 **~~~~scene of violence~~~~~**

"Now where is your southern hospitality?" he asked as he grabbed her breast through her top.

"Let me go!" she cried out and slapped him across the face.

"Rebel whore!" he yelled as he backhanded her across her face, clipping her lip with a ring on his finger, the next she knew she was being pressed down on the ground, as her back hit the ground, his hands were pushing her skirts up. This was it, she was about to be raped by a Yankee on her own home.

Suddenly the Yankee was being pulled off of her, and she looked up to see her dear father punching the man, hitting him in the gut, as he was about to hit her attacker again, a shot was fired. She watched in horror as a red stain appeared on her father's chest, where his heart was. Then she watched in slow motion as he fell backwards, she let out a cry and rushed to his side.

 **~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Daddy! Daddy, no, don't!" Regina cried as she held her father's head in her hands.

"Regina...I love you," Henry Mills whispered out, his last words were to his precious daughter as he closed his eyes and his heart stopped beating.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Regina cried out but it was no use, he was dead.

"Henry!" Cora Mills yelled as she ran across the yard to her fallen husband.

Regina looked up and saw the man who had fired the shot, the fatal shot that had killed her beloved father. She then saw that he was not alone, he was surrounded by a squad of his fellow Yankees. Her would be rapist was escorted away.

"Now maybe you rebels will learn," the man said as he nodded to the man to his left and walked off.

"It is hereby known, that the first platoon of New York is taken control of this plantation as our headquarters," the man said. "We have orders to appropriate your home for the use of the United States, and we order you to render yourselves and your goods to the benefit of the Union."

Regina stood up, "Who was he? Who is the captain?"

"The Captain's name is, Captain David Nolan," the man answered.

"That's all you damn Yankees will ever get of my home!" Regina yelled as she flung a handful of dirt at him, he just knocked it off and walked off.

Grumpy, the footman and another man picked up the body of Henry Mills and took him away, Cora following them.

Regina stood there, her heart in anguish and rage. Rage that a damned Yankee had taken her father away from her, just like they had taken her beloved Daniel away two months after the war had started. The only two men who had loved her. Now they were both gone.

She turned and looked at her home, what was left of it, "With god as my witness, they are not going to beat me."

She went inside to help her mother prepare her father's body for burial.

Months later, after Nolan's men had left her plantation, another Yankee group had arrived to take over. She was just returning from the very small garden they had planted, and looked up into the sun to see the new Yankees approaching. But as she lowered her arm, her gaze was caught by the penetrating blue eyes of the man who she had never thought to see again.

Robin Locksley.

Even across the yards that separated them she felt as if he had reached out and touched her. He was the enemy, but she could not turn her eyes from his. As he noticed her, a soft smiled appeared on his face, a smirk in fact! She quickly went inside her home, to start cooking some food and to ignore him more pointedly.

Robin Locksley, clenched his fist as he watched her leave. He was amazed at his own reaction, he wanted to go after her. He wanted to touch that dark hair again, to pull it out of that bun and spread his fingers through her hair. His pulse quickened as he thought of how her lips had once tasted under his lips. That kiss had haunted his dreams many a night. He was relieved to find out she was still alive, with the world going to hell all around them.

He quickly dismounted and headed inside the house, a pair of stormy dark eyes and dark hair flashed through his mind. With the spirit in those eyes, he knew she would never surrender. He wondered, with a ghost of a smile relaxing the pain that was in those eyes, what else she would do to bedevil her so called conquerors.

He found her in the kitchen cutting up some vegetables, "Hello, Milady."

Regina turned around and looked at him but continued to work.

"Now don't be like that with me," Robin said as he stood in front of her at the table she was working at.

"It's been a long time, I'm very glad to know you have survived so far," Robin said.

"Survived? This is surviving?" Regina asked sharply.

"You're still alive, you have your home," Robin said.

"No thanks to you dirty Yankees," Regina fired back at him.

"Someone has to be the spoils of war," Robin said.

"Because of you nasty, murdering Yankees," Regina said.

"Regina, we're at war," Robin said.

"Is war worth killing my father? Raping me?" Regina asked as she looked at him, and in those eyes he saw true pain.

"You were raped?" Robin asked, knowing it had to have been one of his fellow Yankees.

"No, my father stopped him," Regina said, "and died for it."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, relieved she had not been raped. For he knew that if she had been, he would have no chance with her. He looked at her mouth, where there was a scar that wasn't there before. "What happened to your mouth?"

"He was murdered for saving me by a Yankee captain, after another Yankee hit me and was going to rape me," Regina said as she continued to cut the vegetables, or tried to. But thinking of her beloved father brought back fresh tears. She stopped what she was doing to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Robin saw the anguish on her face, and he moved to her side, taking her in his arms. She tried resisted his embrace, but her devastation and being so worn down from the war, had taken its toll on her. She gave in to his embrace and let out her pain, slowly.

"It's going to be alright, Regina," Robin whispered into her ear as he stroked her back, wincing as he realized how thin she was now. She had been delicate before, but now she was way too thin.

Regina realizing the intimacy of the current position, snapped out of his embrace, "You're all the same, you've stolen our lands, raped our women, and murdered innocent old men." She walked out of the kitchen, leaving him standing there.

Robin took a few steps to follow her but he knew there was no getting through to her, his fellow countrymen had done so much damage to her and for that he could not blame her for her hostility.

"Damn this war!" Robin said to an empty kitchen. He wished it was over so many times in the past, now more than ever. He wanted to pursue her, court her like she should be courted. He also knew that even if this war wasn't between them, she would still fight against him. He remembered that kiss they had shared the day they had met, right before the start of this blasted war. He had wanted to start courting her from the very moment he had ever laid eyes on her. Those eyes of her when they had locked with his, had made him realize that those were the eyes that he was born to gaze into for the rest of his life.

Regina's eyes.

He had been able to keep tabs on her until the last two years, he had spoken with Henry Mills about a possible courtship with his daughter that day back on Queen's plantation. Henry Mills, had been surprised at the mention of Robin's interest in his daughter. And after a lengthy discussion between the two men, Henry had agreed to let Robin court his daughter, but he had also warned the younger man about Regina's interest in Daniel Stables.

Robin had chuckled and when pressed on it, he mentioned he had had a run in the other man. Henry and him had then shared a glass of bourbon and discussed the probable pending war that both men knew would tear this country apart. Robin had asked Henry to not give his blessing to the other man, for two reasons, one he didn't want Regina to marry Daniel not when he had plans for her. And the other, he didn't want Regina to be made a widow at such a young age. Henry had agreed to Robin's requests, he could tell that Robin was the sort of man that his daughter needed, someone to stand up to her and be able to sass her as she would sass him.

What Robin had not known until they were almost done with their conversation, and bourbon, was that Henry had witnessed the whole altercation between Robin and Regina, and Daniel. Henry had been relieved to witness someone holding their own against his beloved daughter's sharp tongue.

Robin had left that day on Queen's plantation with the prospect of finally finding someone who could hold his interest. His plans had been forever altered with the start of the war. Henry Mills had held his promise to stay in contact with him, had informed him about the passing of Daniel, the devastation of Regina from such news. They had lost neighbors, family, and long known friends. Robin had tried many times to get leave to go to Queen's plantation, but had repeatedly been denied, until finally a few weeks ago.

He had hurried with his squad to come to South Carolina, on the way, he had seen firsthand the destruction from Sherman's March to the Sea. Sherman's forces destroyed military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property and disrupted the Confederacy's economy and its transportation networks. Sherman's bold move of operating deep within enemy territory and without supply lines had been considered to be revolutionary in the annals of war.

Robin knew that the war was on its last stages, thankfully. Unfortunately he had only been given time enough to oversee and report on with his own eyes the result of Sherman's march. He was to report in three weeks to President Lincoln himself. Not nearly enough time to try and woo Regina, not that it ever was going to be an easy task. He knew now that he would have to leave her here, and go to President Lincoln. There was no way out of it, but he also swore to himself that as soon as this blasted war was over for good, he would return for Regina and this time he would not leave without her.

He sighed as he knew this battle, the battle for her broken heart was just the beginning. He sighed and finished the cooking, his men needed the nourishment as did the survivors here at Queen's plantation.

Later that day, and considering Regina's hostility, Robin didn't expect her to join him and a few others for dinner, so when she came into the room, with the poise and dignity of a Queen, he was genuinely surprised. As the meal went on, he learned that Cora Mills was not feeling well and would have her dinner in bed. He also met Regina's sister, Zelena Mills. A woman who flirted with him over the meal. He paid her no mind, his mind was only focused on one Mills lady, Regina.

Regina was quiet, too quiet, she had made few trivial comments. The conversation about the meal, didn't suffer any uncomfortable lapses, because Zelena kept up an endless chatter, about nonsense.

Robin watched Regina throughout the meal, he saw that she was not going to eat her dessert. He decided to take advantage of it, and invite her outside for a breath of fresh air.

It was on the tip of Regina's tongue to refuse, to embarrass him in front of his meal, but an idea came to mind, she decided that she should grasp this opportunity to talk with Robin. She might learn something of value from him.

She accepted politely, and she gave him a small smile as he helped her from the chair. He took her arm and led her from the room, and onto the front porch. Regina went to the swing, and sat down. She thought Robin would join her, he thought it wiser to keep a little distance between them, to give her space.

Robin moved to the porch railing, leaned against it, and lit a cheroot, "I hope you don't mind," he said.

"When have Yankees ever asked for permission?" Regina fired.

An uneasy silence descended, it seemed as though they were both at a loss for words. Robin had several things he wanted to say to her, but he had a feeling she didn't want to hear them.

"Regina, not all Yankees are horrible," Robin said. "I'm truly sorry for what happened to you and to your father."

"How is your mother?" he asked.

"What do you care?" Regina answered.

Regina was seething inside. That he was sorry was highly unlikely. He was a Yankee, and he was fighting to destroy the South, her home was only one among many! She wanted to question Robin, to see if there was anything she could learn. Maybe she could eavesdrop on him and his men later. She would stay on her guard and grasp the chance if it presented itself. Maybe she could sneak away from the house if she did and tell the rebel squad that she knew was at a neighboring plantation about Robin's group being here. But then, why did the thought of Robin being in danger displease her?

She got up from the swing, intending to go into the house. Staying here with Robin was not going to help things, that and she wanted to put some distance between then, from whatever this was she was feeling. She remembered that kiss that they had shared, his comforting embrace earlier today. Her insides were playing havoc right now.

"Regina we do need to talk," Robin said as he grabbed her arm gently as she made to move past him.

"I have nothing more to say to you, you Yankee scum," Regina said.

"Regina, don't you think you're being unfair? This war has nothing to do with us," Robin said.

"It has everything to do with us!" Regina said her temper boiling now. "My father was murdered because of a Yankee, the man I loved was killed by a Yankee! Don't you dare stand there and tell me that this war has nothing to do with us! You're a traitor to the South!" Regina said.

"I haven't lived in the South since I was a young boy, my father was from the North. But that's beside the point. This country must stay united. Furthermore, it's time the South freed the slaves," Robin said.

Regina believed in his last words, and she wanted to blurt out how she had been doing just that but he didn't have her loyalty or her trust. She stamped her foot, angrily, placed her hands on her hips and said furiously, "I hate you, I will always hate you Robin Locksley!"

He grinned rakishly, but a touch of fury lurked beneath his smile. "Your temper tantrums are so immature." He folded his arms across his chest, eyed her sternly, and continued, "But if you insist on acting like a child, then I'll start treating you like one. Starting with putting you over my knees and spanking that lovely bottom of yours."

"You wouldn't dare!" Regina said, outraged at his threat.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" he fired back. His smirk had returned.

"Go to the devil!" she shouted. "I'm through talking to you!"

She made a move to pass him, but Robin stopped her, and drew her into his arms. Holding her close, he said somewhat gruffly, "Since you're through talking, you won't mind if I kiss you, will you?"

Trying futilely to squirm free, she replied irritably, "Let me go before I scream!"

"Who's going to come to your rescue? My soldiers perhaps? What good will that do? I'll just order them away." He smiled wryly. "We're just alike, selfish and shrew and able to look people in the eyes and call them as we see them."

"Let me alone!" Regina said.

"Regina, kiss me. Kiss me, just once," Robin said as he placed one hand under her chin, raised her face to his. Suddenly her mouth was smothered by his warm lips, and his demanding kiss held her captive. She couldn't resist the fire that ignited within her, her desire for him was real now. And something else, something she wasn't prepare to admit to.

With a shuddering sigh, she leaned into his embrace, forgetting for a few moments that he was a Yankee and she was a southerner. She just responded to the sensations his kiss was evoking. Somehow her body was pressing into his, her breasts pressed against his chest so hard that she could feel his brass buttons bits into her tender skin.

Brass buttons, from his Yankee uniform. Regina gasped and Drew back. It wasn't until he had released her that she realized she had been kissing him back, and the sudden knowledge stung like a whip. Without pausing to think, Regina slung back her arm and slapped Robin across the cheek. The imprint of her palm and fingers left white marks on his tanned skin, and she didn't say a word as she glared at him.

"Good night, Milady," Robin said as Regina left him on the front porch. Robin wanted a drink, so he pulled out his flask and took a swallow. As he turned he saw Zelena standing there.

She smiled brightly, "Why hello."

"Hello, Miss Mills," Robin said.

"Having yourself a drink?" Zelena said as she walked up to him.

"Yes, unfortunately I'm out of the stronger stuff," Robin said.

"There's brandy in my room," Zelena said as she put a hand on the front of his uniform. "I'll be happy to fix you a drink."

Robin chuckled as he was not some young boy who would be her next conquest, "I'm fine with my drink as it is."

"Pity," Zelena said. "How are things with Regina?"

"That's private and only between us," Robin said.

"Well just so you know, she's always been a known flirt with men, especially southern men," Zelena said. "I think it's time you gave someone else a chance."

Before Robin could respond, she had reached up and kissed him full on the lips, putting her arms around his neck.

Regina had for the last minute been in the kitchen, needing to cool off. That kiss had affected her in so many ways, just like their first kiss had. It was a kiss that made her feel things like never before. She had never acknowledged it until now, but that day before the war started she had started to fall for Robin Locksley dammit! She had thought she was in love but after looking into Robin's eyes, there was something there she had never experienced before.

Love.

Was it possible to fall in love after simply looking into someone's eyes? Her father had once told her that Love was a powerful weapon and that when she found it, to hold onto it and never let go.

A year after the war started, she had been on the back porch one day when her father had come out with her, he had asked what was on her mind.

"Daniel, I lost everything Daddy. My future, the love of my life, my happiness is buried with Daniel," Regina had said.

"Regina, in one lifetime you will love many times. But one love will burn your soul forever," Henry said.

"I will never love again, and no one will ever love me," Regina said. Henry had sighed and took her in his arms to comfort her.

Was she going to give Robin a chance? He was still her enemy. She didn't think, she just turned and headed back for the front porch as she neared the door, she heard Zelena.

She watched as Zelena laced her arms about Robin's neck. "I think it's time you gave someone else a chance." She then watched as Zelena reached up and kissed Robin on the lips, Regina whirled about and retreated to her room. She threw herself on her bed.

Her temper was raging, and she was so angry that she could barely think straight. Oh, the two timing cad! He had wasted no time moving on to someone else, and not just someone else, but her witch of a sister. Apparently he didn't care who shared his bed, as long as the woman was able to satisfy him.

As Regina was in her room now, Robin was freeing himself from Zelena's clutches. Breaking their kiss abruptly, he held her at arm's length. "Zelena, don't ever try that again, your seduction and charms are wasted on me. I am in love with your sister." Finally saying it aloud made him realize how he truly felt for her.

"But Robin," Zelena cried, "Regina doesn't love you. She'll never love you. Furthermore, she won't appreciate a man like you! I could give you the love and the attention you deserve, inside and out of the bedroom!"

Robin seriously doubted that Zelena, who was too wrapped up in herself could give any man, let alone him, such love or attention. And he desperately wanted Regina's love and attention. "Good night, Zelena."

The next few days passed with Regina ignoring him at every given opportunity that she had. On the day that Robin and his men were due to leave, Robin sought out the lady who had been on his mind nonstop.

"Regina," Robin came up to her as she headed for the front door.

"What do you want?" Regina asked sharply.

"I'm here to tell you we won't be taking any livestock and between that and your garden you should be able to feed all here at Queen's plantation," Robin said.

"What? Do you want me to thank you? It will be a cold day in hell before I'll ever be thankful for a Yankee," Regina fired back.

He went to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, "I'm tired of your tantrums and your hostility! Don't you think it's time you stopped acting like a spoiled, temperamental child?"

She tried to push him away, but his hold was too firm, "Let me go!"

He drew her into his arms and before she could protest, his lips were branding hers in a sizzling kiss. In a matter of seconds she was responding to his kiss, kissing him back with gusto.

A whoop of laughter assaulted her ears, it was Robin's men. "Tame that little Rebel, Captain!"

"That's the way!"

Regina pulled back and said, "You've made your point, Captain Locksley," she said stiffly, "but I shall still wash away your kiss."

Robin grinned, then gave her that familiar smirk of his, "Try washing away your response."

"And one day this war will end, then our differences will no longer matter. And one day I'm going to hear the words you told another man once, I love you," Robin promised her.

"Those are words you'll never hear from me as long as you live," Regina protested as she turned and went into the house.

An hour later, Robin and his men were mounted and about to leave, he had hoped to see Regina watch him off, but was disappointed.

Instead another Mills lady was there to see him off. The mother, Cora.

"Mrs. Mills, I do hope that when next we meet, it will be under better circumstances," Robin said as he dismounted and walked up to her.

"My husband spoke highly of you," Cora said. "I know you have an interest in my Regina, and I hope you also know you will have one hell of a fight for it."

"I hope it will only be from your daughter?" Robin questioned, hoping he wouldn't have a fight from Cora from it.

Cora was silent for a bit, "You have character, I can tell. You're going to need a lot of luck."

"Thank you, Mrs. Mills," Robin said as he took her hand and shook it as he winked at her, he looked up at the house to see a pair of curtains shut quickly, knowing it was Regina he smiled as he headed back to his horse. He quickly mounted and putting his hat back on he smiled at the window and then he and his men were off.

Hopefully to return soon...


	3. Chapter 3

_**(** **A/N-Spe** **cial thanks to Mint18 for beta reading this and to all who read, review, follow and fav this story.)**_

A few more weeks passed, Queen's plantation had suffered because of the war along with it's occupants. Regina's home had been burned by the Yankees, luckily her mother, Abigail and a few others who remained at the home had survived. If you could call this surviving, they were literally starving! Regina felt hunger pains daily, as they were barely making it on what very little food they had. And just when it looked like it couldn't possibly be worse, Regina's mother had turned sickly.

"Something has to be done, Abigail. We can't go on like this," Regina said as she paced outside the shack they were now living in.

"Maybe I'll get a rabbit when I go hunting," Abigail said. "I could make some broth from it to help your Mama feel better."

"A rabbit is not going to solve our problems here," Regina said angrily. She knew her anger was misplaced, but couldn't help it. It wasn't fair that her family was starving while people in the North were enjoying a hearty meal in a warm house before a roaring fire. Yankee soldiers had cruelly raped her land, and nothing would ever be the same again.

Robin was a Yankee soldier.

Regina shook her head at the reminder of him. She hated him and his kind for the injustice done to the people of the South. She hoped never to see him again.

Abigail had no answer to Regina's furious comments. She knew Regina was right, that is was only a matter of time before they all starved to death. And the sad part was that she saw no way to solve this. "I know, Miss Regina, I know."

"I can't just stand by and let the people I love starve," Regina spat the words with such vehemence and determination that Abigail was momentarily taken back.

"What are you going to do?" Abigail asked, well aware of Regina's quick tempered nature.

"I'm going to Charleston," Regina said.

"What for? There's nothing there but burned buildings and Yankees," Abigail said.

"I'm going to find work," Regina answered, knowing the questions were not going to stop.

"Work? What kind of work? The last word we had from there was that it was a ghost town, except for Yankees and a few-" She paused, looked over at her son, and then hissed in Regina's ear. "You know them places where women pleasure men."

"I can't let my mother die, or the rest of you to starve. I won't! I'll leave when the weather changes, and don't try to change my mind," Regina said.

"I don't like it, child," Abigail said.

"I see no other way out, Abigail," Regina said, she was afraid, but she had to do this.

A week later, Regina entered the city of Charleston. Few civilians were on the streets, even though it was early afternoon. Regina tried to ignore the men who ogled her curiously, but found it difficult to disregard the leers she was forced to endure.

To Regina's disappointment, she found most of the stores abandoned by their owners. Shopkeepers who remained open for business turned her away with amused laughter when she informed them that she was looking for employment.

"Did Miss Jo Anne turn you out?" one shopkeeper asked pointedly.

"Miss Jo Anne?" Regina repeated. "I'm sorry but I don't know a Miss Jo Anne."

When the man grinned at her as if he didn't believe her, Regina turned and walked away, a puzzled look on her face.

The next shopkeeper was more blunt, "Are you one of Miss Jo Anne's girls?"

"No, should I be?" Regina asked.

"That depends. You're pretty enough, but not quite the type I'd expect to find in a...er... house of pleasure. But nowadays it's the only job available for females in Charleston. More than one girl from a good family has ended up working for Miss Jo Anne. Besides all the civilians have been ordered out of Charleston."

Abruptly Regina turned and made a hasty departure, aware now of the meaning behind the strange looks aimed at her by Yankee soldiers on the street. They thought her a whore!

Clearly there was no work for her in Charleston, and she had no choice but to ask the Yankees for help. Her pride be damned, this was her mother and her family back home. When she stopped by the Yankee office, she was turned away by some leud men. She even asked if they knew Robin Locksley as a last resort, one even asked if she was Robin's whore. She turned and left immediately.

She was walking down the street when she heard the sounds of music and laughter. She headed towards the building, seeing it was Miss Jo Anne's building. She stood on the outside and just looked at it for the longest time.

"Are you going to stare or come in?" a voice called to her, a female voice.

"Are you Miss Jo Anne?" Regina asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"In person, honey. It's warmer inside, come on in," Miss Jo Anne said.

Miss Jo Anne took her to her office and had her sit down, "Now, tell me your name sugar,"

"Regina, Regina Mills," Regina finally answered.

"So, Regina, tell me why you're here," Miss Jo Anne clearly didn't believe in beating around the bush.

"I was told you'd give employment," Regina answered.

"You know of course, that the women I employ must be willing to pleasure men, don't you?" Miss Jo Anne asked.

A dull red crept up Regina's neck, she nodded as she answered, "I'm aware of what goes on here."

"Have you worked in a house of prostitution before?" Miss Jo Anne asked.

Regina's mouth worked noiselessly until she found the courage to answer. "No."

"That's what I thought. You don't look the type," Miss Jo Anne said.

"Please, I'm in desperate need of money, my home was burned by Yankees and my family is going to starve," Regina pleaded with her.

"What about relatives?" Miss Jo Anne asked.

"We have none. I believe there are some in France or England, but too far away to help," Regina answered.

"And you're willing to sell yourself in order to buy food?" Miss Jo Anne asked.

"I'd do anything, even compromise my morals, to save my family," Regina answered.

"I'll have to fatten you up first, my men want their women with curves, not a starving scarecrow," Miss Jo Anne said. "It will take several days though."

"Several days? My family hasn't got several days. I could start immediately," Regina said.

"You wouldn't last the night," Miss Jo Anne scoffed. "You wouldn't have the stamina necessary for this kind of work."

"What can I do?" Regina asked.

"I can loan you the money, honey, though I doubt you'd find food for sale anywhere in Charleston," Miss Jo Anne answered.

"What am I do to then?" Regina asked, feeling completely defeated. This was her last outlet, there was nothing else.

"I'll give you what food and medicine I can spare, and you can pay me from your first earnings," Miss Jo Anne offered.

"You'd do that for me? How do you know you can trust me to return once I leave here?" Regina asked.

"I just know. You can leave in the morning, and I expect you back before the dark. Is it a deal?" Miss Jo Anne asked.

Regina had to swallow several times before answering, she had to think of others before herself, "Yes...yes we have a deal."

Meanwhile in Washington, Robin paced his room as his thoughts were on one person, Regina. He worried that they were not getting enough to eat and fretted because he had no way of knowing if they were still at Queen's Plantation trying to make out a meager existence. Had any more of his fellow soldiers found their way there, making any attempt on Regina? Regina was a beautiful woman, even with all that this war had done to her, her beauty still shined through. He hated not knowing how she was, was she safe? Warm? He pounded his fist against the wall of his hotel room, in obvious frustration.

The moment he received his new assignment, which allowed him two weeks leave before requiring him to report for duty, Robin made immediate plans to travel to Regina's home, and bring her, and her family back to Washington with him. But the weather turned blustery, and the train between Washington and Charleston, which had been running sporadically since the Rebels began blowing up railroads, wasn't due to leave for another two days.

He wondered what she thought of him, did she think of him? Like he was her? He knew that a part of her hated him, but he also reasoned with himself that there was a part, albeit small, where there was a glimmer of feeling she had for him. He wanted to rekindle the spark that was between them, had been there since their first meeting, and he wanted it to burn again into a flame, until it finally became a burning flame. Even if it took him a lifetime to get her to acknowledge their connection.

He wondered if they would be married now with a few little ones if not for the war. He could imagine how things might have gone, if not for the war. He would have pursued her, not caring that she claimed to love someone else. He would have charmed her, and eventually, won her over. They would have moved to his home in New York, if he could get her to leave her southern roots. He would have spoiled her rotten, once she let that blasted guard of hers down for him to do so.

But fate was not so kind to them, here they were separated by this blasted war. Her feelings of hatred towards him still abound. But as soon as the railroad was back up and running in two days, he would return to her. And try to start the healing process between them. As he knew that once the South lost, and that it was just a matter of time before they did, then this country would begin to heal as well.

It would take time, time for their relationship to heal, and to properly form a union together. Just as he knew his relationship with Regina would take time, before they truly could have a union together. And he could not stop the grin appearing on his face, as he thought of what a perfect couple they would make together. Him with his charm, and her with her own charm and grace, and of course her fire.

"Soon, love, soon," Robin whispered as he laid on the bed and closed his eyes, images of his love clouding his mind.

Little did Robin know that fate was about to interfere in their lives once again...


	4. Chapter 4

_**(A/N-Special thanks to Mint18 for beta reading this, thank you so much. Special thanks also to those who read, follow, fav and review this. I read on twitter where there was a southern voice used so I thought about this.)**_

"You've what?" Abigail, she an older house maid, who was in charge of seeing about Regina's ailing mother, and was shocked out of her skin with what Regina had just told her. If Regina had told her the world was going to end tomorrow, it would have been easier to accept.

"I found a job, I have to do this," Regina explained. "What difference does it make what kind of job I'll be doing. Ms Jo Anne is a good person. She gave me all this food and medicine, to bring home and she trusts me to return Charleston."

"You can't do this, Regina," Abigail tried to talk some sense into her.

"This is not open for debate," Regina said. "I've given my word, I'm returning at the end of the week to go to Ms. Jo Anne's."

"Over my dead body," Abigail said.

Regina sighed wearily. "I'll bring out additional food whenever I can get away, and medicine for Mother. Ms. Jo Anne sent me to the doctor and he gave me all this. I have to repay the debt, and my honor demands I return to fulfil my promise to her."

"How can you talk about honor when what you're doing is dishonorable? If your mother knew what you were planning she'd-"

"Abigail, I have to do this!" Regina said.

"If Captain Locksley knew about this, he'd skin you alive," Abigail said.

"I don't want to hear about Captain Locksley, he's not here and he's not likely to return. You have to accept the fact that I'm determined to save my mother, no matter the costs in terms of pride," Regina said.

"I hate it Ms. Regina, but I also know how determined you are, and I know I can't stop you," Abigail said. "I'll look out after your mother."

"I'll come back as much as I can," Regina said.

"Take care of yourself, Ms. Regina," Abigail sobbed as she turned away. "It just ain't right. A fine young lady like yourself shouldn't have to lay with Yanks for money."

Unable to come up with a response that would satisfy her, Regina turned to the shack,

"I'll tell mother I'm off to get supplies and I'll be back soon."

Robin stepped off the train to a scene of desolate as any he had ever seen. Much of the railroad had been demolished. He made his way directly to headquarters, requesting billeting for a few nights. He was given a room in a hotel that was being used by the army to house its men. Since he hadn't slept well on the train, he lay down to rest for a few minutes, and instead fell into a deep sleep. Later he ate dinner at the officer's mess and declined an invitation to visit Ms. Jo Anne's, the best of the local whorehouses. Making love to any woman but Regina did not appeal to him. Instead, he downed a stiff whiskey and went directly back to his room, dreaming of his reunion tomorrow with Regina.

Would she be glad to see him? He wondered anxiously. Had she been getting enough to eat, or would he find her starving as so many were in the south these days. Tomorrow couldn't get here fast enough.

The next morning, he took off towards Queen's plantation, with plenty of bags of food and a length of silk for Regina. He wasn't a poor man, Robin reasoned and he could well afford to give the woman he hoped would be his wife some pretty things.

Since his father had died nearly ten years ago, Robin had been the head of the family, acting as sole support for his mother and sister. His father's munitions plant had always made money, more now than ever.

Robin turned off the main road and nudged his horse down the long avenue of oaks toward the house. His eagerness must have been catching, for his horse danced beneath him excitedly. It was as if the horse recognized the path down which they travelled and was eager to return home.

Home.

Strangely enough, Robin had begun thinking of Queen's plantation as home. He had grown to love the place as much as Regina did. Robin pictured how it would be after the war, assuming help could be hired to run the vast acres. He envisioned it in all its former glory, with ripe cotton waving in the breeze, their pods bursting and ready for harvesting.

When he came within sight of the house, Robin saw only the tall front pillars left unscathed by fire. Nothing seemed amiss. But the initial impression was shattered when he noticed the charred, blistered walls and remains of the room fallen in upon itself.

"Sweet Jesus, NO!"

Leaping from the saddle, Robin ran toward the gutted wreckage of the house, sobbing and calling Regina's name. His answer was an ominous silence. Like a madman he began tossing aside boards and charred debris until his hands were bleeding and he was grimy and blackened with soot. When he realized the house had been burned weeks ago and was unlikely to yield a clue to Regina or her family's fate, he sat down on a stump and stared dazedly into the rubble.

Was Regina alive? Or had she perished in the fire? Had the house been burned by Union soldiers or Rebel deserters? When he learned who was responsible for such wanton destruction he'd personally see that the men were punished.

"You're too late, Captain Locksley."

Leaping to his feet, Robin spun around. He had recognized Abigail's voice immediately, and relief surged through him. "What are you talking about? Why am I too late?" Lord, don't let it be what I think, he fervently prayed.

"Regina's gone."

"Oh, God, No!" The cry ripped past his lips, the agony tearing him apart. Without Regina, life wasn't worth living. "What about Regina's mother? Your son, David?"

"She's doing much better, she's been sick. He's doing okay. We're staying in one of the old shacks out back. It ain't much, but it keeps us warm and dry," Abigail explained.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Abigail, so damn sorry. How long ago did it happen?" Robin asked as he thought of his life without Regina.

"Right after you left with that woman."

Robin's guilt intensified as he thought of how Regina must have suffered with his absence. Tears gathered in Robin's eyes as he hastily brushed them away with the back of his hand. "I'll bring you and Cora with me back home."

"I ain't going up north without Regina, she'd tan my hide," Abigail said.

Her remark stymied Robin. He thought about it for a few seconds before her meaning became clear. His heart leaped in unfettered joy and he grasped Abigail by the shoulders, the intensity of his blue eyes frightening her.

"What are you saying, Abigail? I thought you said Regina was dead."

"Dead? Lordy no," Her eyes rolled heavenward until only the whites were visible. "She ain't dead, Captain, just gone."

"Gone where?" His hands tightened, making Abigail wince in pain.

"To Charleston. I done told her there was no work for her there, but she couldn't let us starve, could she? It ain't like she's doing it cause she wants to. Or that she will enjoy it. We was all starving and her mother was bad sick Captain, it was the only way," Abigail said.

"What in the hell are you babbling about?" Robin asked, confused. He knew he wasn't about to like what he was going to be told.

"Captain Robin! You're here!" David yelled as he came running.

Robin caught the young boy as he leaped into his arms. He groaned in dismay when he felt the lad's thin frame beneath his hands, he could count every rib beneath his narrow chest. With a pang of guilt Robin imagined all the suffering and hardships they had been forced to endure in his absence. He vowed then and there that neither Regina, her family or Abigail's would have to endure any of it any longer.

"Do you know where Regina is?" Robin asked the young boy.

"Regina couldn't bear for her mother or us to suffer, that's why she did it," Abigail said.

"Did what?" Robin was becoming more impatient by the minute.

"It ain't easy for me to say," Abigail said.

"Just tell me where to find her," Robin said.

"She's at Ms. Jo Anne's," David piped up. "I heard her say she was going to work in a warehouse."

Robin nearly choked. "She what!"

"Oh, Lordy," Abigail said.

Robin's face was like thunder. Never had anyone seen him so angry. David's small face screwed up as he bravely fought back tears.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Robin bent and scooped the lad up in his arms. "No, you didn't say anything to make me angry with you. I'm just worried about Regina. Why don't you go look at my saddlebags, I've brought you some gifts."

David took off leaving a fuming Robin with Abigail.

"How long has Regina been at Ms. Jo Anne's?" His voice sounded as if it were stretched taut.

"A week."

A soft groan slipped past Robin's lips. "Have you heard from her since she left?"

"No. She brought enough food and medicine to last us two or three weeks and said not to expect her for a while."

"Why in the hell didn't you stop her?"

"I tried. The good lord knows I tried, but you know how stubborn Regina is," he did indeed. "She hoped to get respectable work, but there isn't anything available."

"Pack up your things, and David's and Cora's. I'll be back." Robin said.

His face was a mask of fury, Robin turned abruptly and walked over to where David was still rummaging in his saddlebags. The young boy had a peppermint stick and never had Robin seen an expression of such delight on the face of another human being.

"Don't be angry with Regina," Abigail warned, shaking a finger in his face. "She done what she had to do."

Robin mounted up. "Don't lecture me, Abigail. Regina is the one you should have scolded. When I find her, I'll try to contain my anger. If it's any consolation, be advised I won't harm her."

"Captain Locksley," a weak voice called out to Robin, he quickly dismounted seeing it was Regina's mother.

"Mrs. Mills, please sit down," Robin directed her to an old chair near the shack.

"Captain Locksley-" Cora began.

"Robin, call me Robin," Robin said.

"Robin, I know what my daughter has done, I hate with all my heart the thought of my daughter being reduced to a prostitute," Cora said as Robin nodded and winced at the reminder.

"I also realize she had no choice with us about to starve," Cora said. "But I want you to go after her and stop her."

"I plan on it, Mrs. Mills," Robin confirmed.

"I also know you had spoken with my husband years ago about our daughter," Cora said.

"You daughter awoke something in me I didn't realize I even wanted," Robin said.

"Please bring her back to me," Cora said.

"I will, Mrs. Mills," Robin promised her, "and when I do, I do plan on having a long conversation with both her and you. I also am leaving you some food and supplies that should last until I return."

Cora gave her thanks, as Abigail helped Cora back into the shack. As he rode off, he wasn't certain he could live up to that promise he had made to Abigail. He was angry enough with Regina to wring her beautiful neck. Imagining her spread beneath men who would use and abuse her rattled him so badly, he couldn't think straight. Even though he knew she was doing it for those she loved, the knowledge still threw him into a rage. He loved her, for God's sake!

Regina stared at herself in the mirror, seeing a strange woman who bore her little resemblance. This woman who stared back at her had pouty lips painted a ripe red, and cheeks artfully rouged. Her eyes were outlined in black, the lids highlighted with subtle color that gave them a sensual glow. She wore a sheer peignoir that floated about her body but concealed very little. A hip length chemise beneath revealed her shapely legs, nearly all her breasts, and the tiny span of her waist.

Though Miss Jo Anne had stuffed Regina with rich food for an entire week, it had accomplished little except for filling out the hollows beneath her cheekbones and collarbone. Her body was still thin but nevertheless all woman, with curves and indentation in all the right places.

Regina's greatest fears was that she wouldn't be able to do what was expected of her tonight.

The nearer the time came to walking down those stairs and mingling with Jo Anne's girls, the more panicky she became. She had tried to separate herself from everything that would take place tonight, but nothing short of death would make her forget the moment she let the first man bed her, she would become a whore.

Think of your mother and Abigail, she told herself sternly. She had to think of the two lives she was saving, not about her silly pride or honor. What possible good would her virginity do her when those she loved were dead? A soft knock on the door jerked Regina from her mournful thoughts. The door opened and Jo Anne entered without waiting to be invited.

"You look marvellous, honey," Jo Anne gushed. "But then, I knew you would. Still a mite thin, but I'm sure my customers will be pleased with you as I am. You're not nervous, are you?"

"I-yes, of course I am. This doesn't come easily to me," Regina said.

"It will get easier with time," Jo Anne said, her tone businesslike. "You know the rules, don't you? You let me do the negotiating. After the deal is made, you are free to take the client upstairs. I take care of my girls, I don't allow any rough stuff neither. If a man gets rowdy or tries to hurt you, you only have to call out and one of the bouncers will come to your aid."

Regina paled at the reminder of being in the room with some strange man, "I don't know if I can go through with this."

"Wait, you're not a virgin are you?" Jo Anne asked as Regina slightly blushed answering her question. "You really are desperate to come to me."

"I have to take care of my family, and there is no other work I can do," Regina said. "How...how bad does it hurt?"

"If it helps you dear, if it's with a good man, he will make you feel good after the initial is over," Jo Anne answered. "Regina, you're here to please a man, give him the release and pleasure he needs from you."

Regina swallowed at the reminder, Jo Anne walked over to the door and called out for Lacey, one of her girls, and Graham, one of her bouncers to come into the room.

"Regina, how many men have you kissed?" Jo Anne asked.

"A few," Regina answered, honestly.

"Show Graham, then how you kiss," Jo Anne said as Graham walked up to Regina, who looked at Jo Anne then leaned up and put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him quickly on the lips. When she was done, she looked over at Jo Anne, who looked at Lacey, and Graham and they all laughed.

"Regina, in order to please a man you're going to have to do more than that," Jo Anne said, "Graham, kiss Regina like you're going to bed her now."

Before Regina could react, Graham's lips were on hers and, his hands on the side of her face and he was kissing her deeply, her mouth opened and his tongue slipped inside her mouth and danced with hers.

"Regina, grab Graham's butt with your hands," Jo Anne said as Regina brought her hands down to cup Graham's jean clad butt in her hands.

"Now moan, into his kiss Regina," Jo Anne instructed her to do next.

As Graham deepened the kiss, Regina moaned, not one with pleasure but by Jo Anne's orders. If this was what she was going to be required to do, and it was only a kiss, how was she going to survive more of this?

Graham's lips next took hers, and he grabbed her bottom lip with his teeth pulling it with his. "Is he getting hard against you, Regina?" Jo Anne asked as Regina looked at her and nodded.

"Now, that is enough of that. Lacey, show our newbie what a proper lap dance looks like," Jo Anne said as Graham moved from Regina.

Lacey smiled as she moved Graham to a chair and proceeded to straddle him. She hiked up her skirts and proceeded to grind against him trapping him between her legs. Jo Anne turned to Regina, seeing the look in her eyes, she knew that Regina would be a quick learner, with the right man of course. "You see how she is pleasing him? Her job is to get him hard, and to please him."

Regina nodded as they kept on grinding up to one another, Lacey bringing her hips down into Graham's groin and Graham pushing up against Lacey. Soon Graham was letting out a loud yell of pleasure, followed by Lacey reaching hers. Once they were finished they left the room, Jo Anne walked over to Regina and patted her shoulder, "Come down when you're ready."

Regina remained in the room for a few minutes, she wanted to vomit, but knew she couldn't. She knew she could not linger, with shaking hands she opened the door and stepped out on the landing overlooking the crowded parlor below. As she looked down at the swarm of blue uniforms, she realized that a Yankee would be the first man she had sex with. She took a deep breath, asked her mother to forgive her and headed down the stairs.

Robin rang the door at Miss Jo Anne's house of pleasure with great impatience. His stark, intense face effectively conveyed the anguish he was suffering. He still found it difficult to believe he'd find Regina in a whorehouse, but desperation drove people to do things they might never consider in less difficult times. According to Abigail, Regina had been at Miss Jo Anne's an entire week. He shuddered, thinking of what Regina had been forced to endure before he arrived in Charleston.

The door opened, and declining to hand over his hat and coat to the maid, Robin strode into the parlor. It was already crowded with soldiers and a few civilians attached to the government. Robin recognized one of two of the officers present, but most of the men were strangers, which suited him just fine. The fewer acquaintances who knew his future wife was a-good Lord, he couldn't call Regina a whore!

"Locksley, Robin Locksley," a voice behind him said his last name.

Robin turned around to see a familiar face, "Butler, Rhett Butler," Robin walked over to his old friend. Robin had been at West Point with Rhett, for two years before Rhett had been kicked out of West Point. The two men shook hands before continuing.

"So what brings you to Charleston?" Rhett asked as he lit a cigar.

"A woman," Robin answered as he looked around the room for Regina, he hoped she was not upstairs servicing some strange man, while he was down here.

"Well, you're in the right place," Rhett answered.

"Not, that kind of woman," Robin said, "this one is different. This one I plan on making my wife."

"I never thought I would live to see the day Locksley was enamoured by a woman," Rhett said, "but I do have to ask, what would you future wife be doing in a place like this?"

"Doing what she must to try to survive this war," Robin answered truthfully, while a part of him was furious at Regina doing this, another part of him understood it. "And what are you doing here?"

"I'm heading for Atlanta soon, trying to see if a certain lady is between husbands now," Rhett said.

"Good luck with that," Robin said as he continued to look for Regina.

"When the war is over, we'll catch up," Rhett said as the two men parted.

Robin looked at the stairs and saw her, poised at the top, looking frightened and lost. Her face was heavily painted, and she was dressed or undressed as was the case, most provocatively. He looked at her thinness, and it pained him to think of what she had done.

Robin watched her descend the stairs, saw the stir she created among those men present who had to good fortune to notice her, and his eyes glazed over with fury of his knowledge that other men wanted to bed her. Suddenly staunch willpower was no longer enough to keep him from doing what his conscience demanded he do from the moment Abigail had told him where Regina could be found.

Regina had reached the bottom of the stairs now, pausing to gather her courage before taking that last step. Once she joined the other girls in the parlor, she had no control over what must necessarily follow. She was wild with panic, her gaze sweeping the room, wondering which man, or god forbid, men she must bed this night. Then, she saw him, he was pushing rudely through the throng of men and scantily clad women to reach her. His face was stark with fury. His fists were clenched at his sides, and his eyes were so angry. Regina felt a shaft of raw, naked fear shudder through her.

Robin stopped scant inches from her, staring at her with his astonishingly level gaze for the space of a heartbeat, "Playtime is over, milady, you're coming with me."

Regina's eyes widened, her jaw worked noiselessly, but no words came out. Robin took off his coat and placed it over Regina's shoulders, bent low and put Regina over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You're mine, Regina Mills, and I'll be damned if I let another man will have you."

"What's going on here?" Miss Jo Anne asked as she walked up to them. "If you've made your choice, you have to make arrangements with me first."

"To hell with the arrangements," Robin said tightly. "Regina belongs with me, and I'm taking her with me. Any fool can see she doesn't belong here."

"Regina is here of her own free choice, I hold no one here by force," Miss Jo Anne said.

"Let me go, Robin Locksley!" Regina shouted as she pounded his back with her fists. "I belong to no one!"

"Look, Regina and I need to talk privately, I'll gladly pay for her time," Robin said to Miss Jo Anne.

Jo Anne's eyes sparkled in understanding. Since these two seemed to know one another, she saw no harm in letting Robin have his way, to a degree. "If you want to 'talk' then you'll have to do it in my place. I take care of my girls, and you can have her time, providing you pay for her time and promise not to hurt her."

"I don't know the going rate for the entire night, but this ought to cover it," Robin said disgustedly, as he dug in his pocket with his free hand. He removed several bills and tossed them at Jo Anne.

"Third door on the left, and remember no rough stuff," Jo Anne said as she caught the bills.

"I don't want to go with him!" Regina said as she struggled.

Jo Anne watched them, she didn't know everything, but she did know men. Robin Locksley was a determined man who knew what he wanted. He had emerged from somewhere out of Regina's past to claim the woman he considered his. There was no doubt in her mind that Regina's career in her house had ended before it really began. Jo Anne wondered if the headstrong man knew this was to be Regina's first night of entertaining clients. She wished she could witness the fireworks that were bound to happen when those two tempers clashed, but she would put her money on Robin coming off as the winner.

Robin nodded as Jo Anne smirked at him as he headed upstairs with Regina, he slammed the door to Regina's room with his foot. He headed over to the bed and flung her roughly onto the soft surface of the bed, returned to lock the door, then came back to stand over her. His face was like a thundercloud, dark and menacing.

"Where in the hell are your brains, coming to work in a whorehouse? Do you enjoy having to service several men a night? Wipe your face, you look like a whore," Robin said.

"Don't you judge me, you bastard! You have no idea what brought me here or why I did what I did," Regina said.

"I have some idea," Robin said, his expression softening. "But it doesn't make it any easier for me to swallow. Why didn't you get in touch with me?"

"I did go to the commanding officer, but he refused to help me," Regina said.

"Did you ask him specifically to contact me? Did you tell him that you were starving? That your mother was sick?" Robin asked.

"I hated going to him to begin with," Regina said.

"We'll talk about that later. First tell me what made you seek work in a - a-"

"Whorehouse," Regina finished since he seemed to have difficulty with the word. "I did what was necessary to save my mother and Abigail. They needed food and medicine, I made a deal with Miss Jo Anne, and I intend to live up to my end of it."

"By sleeping with men?" Robin asked.

A dull red crept up Regina's neck, "We do what we have to do for our loved ones."

"My God, Regina, I wanted to throttle you when I heard what you did! I told you I would come back for you, you know how much I care about you," Robin said.

He dropped down on the bed beside her, suddenly weary of this argument. He didn't care what she had done, or with whom. He'd never bring up the past to her, it was their future that mattered. How many men could she have had in a week, anyway? Even one was too many, a little voice whispered.

"What makes you think I'd ever care for a blue belly?" Regina bit out. "Your kind has devastated the South, subjugated our people, raped, destroyed and pillaged at will. I hate you, and I will always hate you. Why couldn't you leave me in peace?"

Robin's eyes fired, "You don't hate me, and you may think you do but you don't. I think you're just too afraid to admit you have feelings for me."

"You're a fool, Robin Locksley, you know perfectly well that the only man I love is dead," Regina fired back.

"And does that keep you warm at night? He never stood a chance with you," Robin said. "If you're afraid I'll think less of you, for coming to this place, rest assured I'll never bring it up again. I don't like it, but I'll accept that you acted out of desperation and need."

Regina was angry with his arrogance. He accepted it? Who the hell did he think he was? "That's right, I did act out of need. I needed those men! And they needed me for their release!"

Robin's tempered flared at her words. "Well I hope they taught you how to please a man, because I'm about to find out." Robin said as he rose from the bed and started to remove his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked as he finished removing his shirt, then started to unbuckle his pants.

"I paid for you for the whole night, and you're going to please me this night," Robin said as he started to slide his pants off.

"You can't do this," Regina said.

"That's where you're wrong, milady," Robin said as he dropped his pants and walked up to her in all his naked glory. "I paid for a night of pleasure with you and I intend to collect."

Regina swallowed and was not about to be bested by him, "Fine, take what you want then."

"Oh, I intend to," Robin said as he pulled her up to stand before him, he then turned and sat on the bed, "now strip."

Regina took a breath and then started to remove her clothes, "Do you prefer a lap dance?"

Robin inwardly groaned as he realized that she had performed that with another man, he was livid still at the thought of her alone with another man. He also thought that after tonight, she would have no reason to think of another man, as he intended to drive any thought of another man from her mind with the pleasure they would bring to one another.

"No, just take off your clothes," Robin said as she turned and removed the last piece that hid her body from his eyes. As she turned around the light from the candles and lattern illuminated her glorious body before him. She stood tall, and brave before him, defiant even.

With a groan, he moved from the bed and scooped her up into his arms. He cuddled her against him, and whispered to her, "Tonight, tonight you are mine."

He didn't know how but suddenly her lips were on him, his on hers. But hers tasted as sweet as he remembered, felt just as soft as they parted beneath his. He could taste her fear, even though she tried to hide it from him.

He simply held her in his arms, not wanting to put her down just yet, as she fought against her own heart.

Then something changed, she sighed, seeming to melt into his embrace. It was the kind of softness a man could drown in, and he lost himself in the taste of her honeyed mouth, the gentle caress of her fingers along his nape. He drank in her sweetness until she made a sound, a little moan, and her hands moved restlessly to his shoulders. "Open your mouth to me." he whispered against her lips as she moulded herself against him at the same time that her mouth burst into flame.

God, the heat of her. Her tongue twined with his in a molten dance. He knew without words what she felt, what her breathy sighs and unconscious movements conveyed, and he also hated that another man, or men had taught her that instead of him.

He had hoped that after the war was over, he would be able to court her and get her to fall in love with him. To be the one to unleash that passion he knew was on the edge of being exposed in her. To give her, her first taste of desire. To give her, her first orgasm as well. To be the first, and only man to be with her.

He sat down on the bed, with her still in his lap. He let his mouth wander from her mouth to her neck, licking and nibbling his way down her throat. She squirmed in his lap, and he groaned as the curve of her buttocks moved snugly against his hardened cock.

"I knew it would be like this between us," Robin whispered against her throat.

Regina snapped out of the cloud of passion he had put her in, "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Robin asked as he continued to kiss her neck.

"Stop kissing me like this," Regina said.

"You should be kissed like this, and often, and by someone who knows how," Robin said. "Among other things."

"Leave me alone!" Regina struggled against him.

"But milady, we are far from being finished," Robin said as he put her on the bed, he started to touch her thighs, as he continued to kiss her lips. He took one of her hands to his hard cock, he felt her hand jerk at the first contact.

"I don't want this," Regina protested as Robin moved his head back from her, to look down at her.

"But you wanted it with all those men before me?" Robin asked.

"There were none before you!" Regina yelled, then put her hand over her mouth, she had not meant to tell him.

"Excuse me?" Robin asked, not believing he heard her right.

"It's true, you smug bastard," Regina said, "I haven't been with anyone else."

"How is that possible? You've been here over a week," Robin reminded her.

"Miss Jo Anne, spent time fattening me up first, told me that I wouldn't attract men with how I looked when I came here," Regina said.

"We'll agree to disagree with that one," Robin said. "You're telling me you haven't slept with other men yet?"

"That's right, tonight was to be my debut," Regina said.

"Damnit, I still can't tell when you're lying to me or telling me the truth," Robin said, frustrated in many ways, "but, there is one way I might find out the truth."

Robin started to move his hand up her thigh as his other started to part her legs for him, "What are you doing?" Regina asked as she started to squirm from his touch.

"Relax, I'm just going to find if you're telling me the truth or not," Robin said as his fingers touched her folds, and separated them, smiling as he felt the moisture there, knowing he had caused her to become aroused. He then held her open as he started to press one finger inside of her.

"Stop it!" Regina said as she beat at his arm, it did nothing to deter him as he continued to press inward, stretching her in the process. Gods! If he was this big with only his finger, how would she ever have handled having his member in her?

Robin smiled smugly, as his finger met resistance. She had finally told him the truth, she was untouched! He started to remove his finger, when he suddenly had other ideas as he started to pump his finger in and out of her.

"Robin...what...," Regina groaned out as she stopped protesting and unknowingly parted her thighs even more to give him more access to her. She didn't know what was happening to her, but it felt so good, in such a bad, but oh so good way.

Robin moved his head downward to her core, and flicked his tongue out to her clit, holding her hips down with his forearm when she jumped at the initial contact.

He continued his ministrations on her clit, as his finger continued to pump in and out, in and out. "What are you feeling, Regina?"

"I...feel like my heart...is going to beat out of my chest," Regina panted out. Robin looked up and saw her mouth slightly open, her eyes closed and she was biting her lower lip.

"I feel like I'm missing something, I ache..." Regina groaned out as Robin smirked at her words, knowing exactly what she was missing. Damnit, he was so hard right now. But he was not going to take her tonight, as much as his body was screaming out for him to do so he wasn't going to. Not in a damned whorehouse!

He pressed hard into her clit with his tongue as he took his cock in his other hand and started to pump himself up and down. He was so close! He felt her legs shaking and knew her orgasm was on the crest and as he pumped his finger faster inside her, she shrieked-there was no other way to describe it. Her head was thrown back as she moaned out the rest of her orgasm.

That took him over the edge as his vision turned to black. He came up on his knees as, a shout escaped his lips as his pleasure shot in glistening trails along her flat belly. His own head was thrown back in ecstasy.

"What..what just happened?" Regina gasped out.

"That...milady, was your first orgasm," Robin answered her quite smugly, feeling smug that he had brought her to this point. He reached for his pants, and took out a hanker chief to remove his fluids from her belly, as he was doing so, Regina sat up.

"What is that?" Regina asked as she watched him cleaning her up.

"That was from my orgasm because of you," Robin answered.

"Now get dressed, I'm taking you home, as I promised your mother I would," Robin answered as he moved from the bed. "Get whatever is yours. I'm going to deal with Miss Jo Anne to settle your debt to her, then we're leaving."

Robin got dressed and left the room, telling her to lock the door after him. Regina had no doubt that she was leaving tonight, she didn't know what she feared worst...dealing with Robin more, because she knew they were not finished, or when her mother found out what she had done.

* * *

 _ **HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**_

 _ **Also I have a twitter if you would like to follow, I share what I'm working on as well as sneak peaks. It's atMyFicsAndMore if you're interested.**_


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